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March 27, 2010

The Truth Behind Dogsbite.org

Dogsbite.org is not an "expert" organization when it comes to canine behavior. There, I've said it.

While it seems that lately, several media outlets have been treating them like they have a particular knowledge on the subject of dog bites and attacks (I'll get to a possible "why" on that later in the post), it doesn't erase the reality that dogsbite.org is simply a website run almost entirely by an individual person who has an expertise in web design, access to google, and a desire to seek revenge on an attack that happened to her several years. Those are the qualifications behind the website. And it runs no deeper than that. And treating the website as anything more than that is a recipe bad information that will lead to less safe circumstances for people and dogs. Let me explain.

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Dogsbite.org is a website run by Colleen Lynn. In June of 2007, Lynn was an unfortunate victim of a dog bite while she was out jogging. Because of the dog bite, by a dog that is said to be a 'pit bull', Lynn decided to create the website dogsbite.org. According to the original "about us" section of the website, the intent of the website was three-fold:

-- Distinguish which breeds of dogs are dangerous to have in neighborhoods

-- Help enact laws to regulate the ownership of these breeds

-- Help enact laws that hold dog owners criminally liable if their dog attacks a person or causes serious injury or death

While I actually agree with her original third mission statement, the original purpose of the website is very clearin the first two statements -- she intended to target particular breeds of dogs and ban ownership of those breeds. The goal was not public education or anything that she claims it to be about now -- it was about enacting breed specific legislation...even though she has no credentials to propose legislation like that with any basis of expertise.

And make no mistake, all of the experts organizations disagree with her idea on breed-specific legislation.

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Every mainstream national organization that is involved in canine/human interactions is opposed to laws targeting specific breeds of dogs. An at-least partial list of these organizations include:

These groups represent the best of the best in the United States for Dog Trainers, Rescues, Shelters, Animal Behaviorists, Government entities,veterinarians, and even Animal Control Officers. All of them oppose breed specific legislation. All of them, in large part, because they have experience working with the actual dogs, and read the science, and realize the aggession is not a breed-specific issue -and the reality is that most dogs, regardless of breed, do not show aggressive behavior -- and yet, some dogs, of each breed, have.

All recommend dog ordinances that focus on the the behaviors of the actual dogs, and not on its body type.

And not listening to the professional organizations, and instead, listening to an "organization" that has no expertise, can lead to bad results. Again, their focus is not in the best interests of public safety...it's about getting revenge.

So dog bites go up, and they give the man the dog warden of the year award because he is targeting 'pit bulls'. Does that sound like the resume of an award winner for a group advocating for public safety to you? Me neither.

But nothing may be worse than a fairly recent post (you can click on the picture to the left to read a screen shot of it) actually claiming that parents shouldn't be expected to teach their children to be respectful around dogs even though major, well-respected, dog training groups recommend otherwise. If you can teach a young child to not touch a hot oven, then they can at least understand "caution" around dogs. It is this type of irresponsibility that is making people LESS safe, not more safe.

Oh, there are other greivences. There is the reality that they claim dogs of even distantly-related breeds -- including Boxers, Bulldogs and Mastiffs - to all be 'pit bulls' in their "statistics". They consistently claim that all of the professional organizations that oppose BSL are only doing so because they are supported by dog fighters*. They sensor all comments on their website that even come remotely close to disputing anything they post -- even if it is someone who is providing acutal data that is correcting something they misspoke about -- again, censoring other types of thinking isn't exactly something you'd expect from a "public education" website.

* The all of these organizations are opposed to BSL because they are supported dog fighters and dog breeders is a particularly funny notion. Many of the organizations that oppose BSL spend literally millions upon millions of dollars trying to shut down dog fighting operations, and all of the orgs oppose dog fighting in principle, even if they aren't actively working to shut the groups down. And as for breeding, several of the groups support breeders and several are working very hard to end breeding and spend countless dollars arguing amonst themselves on the breeding issue - -so the idea they would agree on this subject because they are supported by breeders is baseless too -- to the point that it's kind of comical.

So, the question then remains, how is it that an organization that has so few real credentials continues to get quoted by media outlets out there?

One of the things that journalism schools around the nation teach is the importance of providing both sides of a story. There are always two sides, and they teach the importance of providing both. So when it comes to the argument about whether or not to ban 'pit bulls', dogsbite.org ends up being THE ONLY 'organization' in favor of banning 'pit bulls'. So the media almost has to use them, because they are the only ones with the alternative viewpoint.

And that folks, is the sad truth about dogsbite.org. They are the only one(s) that favor BSL. And they do so based on having a website and google -- not with any real expertise in working with dogs.

And that's very telling.

Oh sure, they will likely retort with criticisms of me, and what are my true credentials. It's true, that even though I've worked in rescue, and I've worked with hundreds of dogs that would be considered 'pit bulls', I have no credentials after my name. I'm not a certified trainer, or a vet. However, I will say this. My opinion is the same one shared by the national organizations that speak for veterinarians, animal control officers, dog trainers and rescuers throughout the nation. So my ideas and point of view is supported by pretty much everyone that has knowledge of canine/human interactions.

Their support group is a city attorney in Denver and an animal control officer that was forced out of his job in Toledo. That's it.

And that's the truth about dogsbite.org. Fine, give them the "other" voice. But let's not mistake them for an organization that has any form of expertise, or any unique knowledge. Let's not mistake them for anything more than a person, with a website, that is seeking revenge for an incident that happened to her. No more, no less.

On one final note to Ms. Lynn. I am sorry that you were attacked by a dog. And I do hope the owner of the attacking dog was held appropriately accountable for the actions of their dog. But it was one dog -- and is not reflective of the millions of dogs out there of this type -- and I would encourage you to go to your local shelter and meet some more of the dogs that you seek to destroy. And I hope that pushing for ordinances that actually improve public safety, and that pushing for educating parents on how to introduce pets and children, will trump your desire for personal vengeance so that we can actually create a safer society.

Comments

Jason,

If you accept that there are tens of thousands of pit bulls have rewarding lives, then the idea that they possess some type of gene that causes them to snap seems pretty ridiculous -- because if there is a breed-specific gene that causes this, then they would all, by definition, have to have it.

And yes, to a degree, I believe there is a bit of a media conspiracy against pit bulls. For the past four years, I've gotten a chance to see virtually every bite dog that has come into our shelter in our community of half a million people. And they come in every breed, shape and size. And the ones that commit major dog bites, and are truly dangerous also come in virtually every breed. I can also tell you that in all certainty that the attacks that get reported by the media are not a representative mix that resembles what we see in the shelter. At all.

But what we do find is that the cases we see do cluster in certain areas and zip codes that are more prone to other types of violence. If you looked at a severe dog bit map, and a shooting map in our community I think they would be pretty tough to distinguish with a couple of exceptions. We see a remarkable number of dogs that come in via bite cases that bit during the middle of some other type of domestic dispute.

This is again why I think it's really important to look at the other factors involved -- including how the dog is cared for, treated, socialized with the family, violence surrounding the family, and when the dog was removed from its litter (something that I think would be a major driver in severe dog bites if we only had that information for even most cases).

And sure, people say they'd never had a problem with the dog, and the dog just snapped in these cases because it's easier to blame the dog than to say what really happened and assume culpability.

I'm all for holding people accountable for the actions of their dogs -- but to assume that the cases are genetic when the evidence suggests otherwise is going to prove to be an ineffective solution.

It truely angers me to see that website spreading vicious lies and collecting money to kill one of natures truest loving loyal friends. I own a pitbull and I would kill to protect her from assholes like the douchbag who blogs bs about the breed on dogsbite.org !! These people need to be stopped from posting such crap!!

Colleen Lynn, the owner of dogsbite.org was jogging and ran up from behind on a dogwalker with a pitbull. While there was ample room to pass on the left, she chose to pass on the right where there was little space and startled the walker and dog. She accepts no blame for her poor judgement in creating a situation where a startled dog bit her. She sued, got money and decided to have a vendetta against pits. Bad site, bad info and very distorted and opinionated writing.

I knew her "sources" couldn't be legit. I've seen studies and reports saying what she has on her "myth" page is actually true (meaning she calls it a myth that it's treatment and not genetics that lead to attacks)...of course I couldn't stomach reading all of her supposed myths so that's just the first half of them.

I almost punched my screen I was so angry reading her "myths" page. I've always heard vets and animal behavior experts saying breed bans have NEVER worked because of the very fact that it's treatment of the dog that causes attacks not the breed and there have been MANY breed bans.

German shepherds were once a breed looked at with just as much hate as bull terriers, yet now it is generally accepted that they are one of the best dogs to have. Of course sites like dogsbite are just like sites that make up "most dangerous dogs" on youtube...common theme is they list large dogs...THEY EVEN PUT GREAT DANES on there! It would be laughable if it weren't for so many people believing them.

Awesome article!! I am glad that I stumbled across this after reading the terrible crap on dogsbite.org! I have worked in animal rescue for over 5 years now. I have taken in more dogs than I can count of all breeds. I was bitten once and it was by a small Maltese mix dog. Did I report it (as it was owned)? No...but I wonder, if everyone reported small dog bites, how many would there be? My husband was bitten by a Boston Terrier pretty badly. Of course, he didn't report it because it was his brother's dog. Now, with that said, when big dog's bite, it causes more damage than a little dog...true. But that is with any large dog!
My second rant is saying that most dogs involved in bites are pit bulls. Were they DNA tested? Do you know how many "pit bull mixes" that once DNA tested aren't even a breed classified as pit bull? Several...
Again great article!!

I know this post was years ago but I appreciate you for setting the record straight pit bulls are just like any other breed it's how they are raised. I have 5 children and we have two pit bulls who are a part of our family and who are very protective of my children and my husband and I and I have no idea what we would do without them. These people are obviously obsessed with the pit bull breed because she was supposedly attacked by one and I'm sorry she was hurt by a dog but you CAN NOT JUDGE EVERY DOG BY ONES ACTIONS!! My dogs Macky and Chunky Monkey are everything to our family, I have a grandson who is now 6 months old and our dogs make sure he is safe and ok and give him lots of kisses all the time and when something is wrong with him they let us know. Thank you again for your post.

I see dogbites.org list facts of real world cases. I do not see anything wrong with that. Fact is many dogs are dangerous in the general public. That is true of dogs from good homes and good breeders. Dogs can be unpredictable. Dogs with superior physical traits can inflict damage. This is my opinion based on real life working in a veterinarian hospital.

Doing a research paper and wanted to know more about the pit bull breed and see what were the myths about them. And came across dogsbite.org and looked at the myths than facts and seemed one sided than googled if that website was a reliable one and saw this journal entry

I believe the reason dogsbite.org has been so successful is because they have actual court cases, Police reports and human medical professionals corroborating their stats.

That coupled to the facts that all of the fatalities they cover from news reports are verified by Police reports, death certificates, insurance companies and of course the victims themselves.

I believe the big key is that organizations that promote the dogs perspective have zero training or experience with dog attack victims, given victims are sent to medical doctors not veterinarians. Having only 3rd party information it could be easy for animal rights groups to wrongly conclude dogsbite has no experience but in reality, all of their experience is medical, legal and aftermath. They are quite the expert.

Tony, The reason they've been so "successful" is in a world where reporters want "both sides" of a story, DBO (and its various ghost orgs) is the only remaining anti-pit bull voice.

Contrary to your assertions, medical doctors do not understand dog behavior and why they bite. Neither do lawyers or former telephone psychics.

This has led DBO to make false conclusions about dog bites because they don't understand dogs, or dog behavior. Thus, they cherry-pick their information to support their false conclusions and leave un-mentioned mounds of peer-reviewed research that completely contradicts their opinion, and eliminate any comments that would attempt to clarify their mis-statements.

And yes, the community that opposed DBO (which is mostly everyone) involves the National Animal Control Association and various state animal control associations -- who absolutely do work with dog bite victims and (gasp) dogs. And, they don't ignore the vast catalogs of science.

Even though this article is several years old, I am relieved to have stumbled upon it! I've been crunching numbers and data published by dogbite.org and what they report is disgustingly skewed! Without getting into all of the discrepancies, I'll voice my major complaint and pain in my bum. With all of their self serving, and totally biased selection of photos of "vicious" dogs involved in attacks, they make the judgment of whether or not a 'Pitbull' is in the mix. Out of those photos, I have calculated an easy 60% of them to be displaying features which are more suited as being the product of other breeds; often Labrador retreavers and hounds. This is, of course, my subjective opinion, which is every bit as qualified as their subjective opinion, seeing as they have no scientifically backed evidence which supports such suppositions. If they truly wanted to support their position that 'Pitbull' breeds or influence are the biggest culprits, they would obtain DNA evidence. They won't do this, however, because the results would be totally off the chart, NOT in their favor!
Thank you for seeing the light!

I try to imagine what it must be like to be so consumed by hate & I simply can't. Colleen Lynn, for all her influence, is a pathetic creature. She's like the real world version of Gollum. We should pity her for not being lovable or capable of love. She will die bitter & incomplete. And even worse, she will deserve it.